We have been on 10 cruises with Princess and this one will not have us looking at Princess in the future. There are just too many other options out there to spend our vacation dollars. Earlier this year we booked a Princess Australia/New Zealand cruise for 2020....that will be cancelled when we get home. I think we are now seeing the full negative affect of Carnival’s takeover of Princess. PROS: Cabin steward was great Staff at Vines (wine bar) was great until Princess management screwed them up with the construction mess (so this explained below). Entertainment staff was great. Entertainment was marginal. When you pay for a 12 day cruise they should not be repeating the same shows. We selected this cruise for the itinerary and the great experience we have had with Princess in the past. The people of Scotland and Ireland are fabulous! Ditto for the one port each in France and Great Britain. CONS: Piazza, deck 5, turned into a construction zone during the last few days of our cruise. This was the final negative issue that put us over the edge to write this review. The popular coffee bar was boarded up and moved to the tranquil Vines wine bar....now the wine bar is noisy and not enough seating....great move by Princess executives. Makes the ships focal gathering place look like a inner city construction zone. The construction will take around 4 weeks so the next 2+ cruises will be affected. I’m sure they, like us, will not be notified ahead of time....we would have cancelled if told. I have a suggestion for Princess executives. Instead of ruining the piazza for passengers paying large sums of money, redo the vacant Future Cruise area on deck 5 of the piazza. We never saw anyone using it. Might have something to do with the terrible cruise experience they were having. Princess is now having passengers subjected to their refurbishment projects (Medalion class,etc) so they don’t loose any revenue. These are projects that should be done in dry dock. I am sure the bean counters don’t care about our cruise experience...they had our money already. ALL elevators went down one morning. In the port of Cobh, Ireland the ship experienced propulsion failure. This required the ship to use tugboats to dock the ship and the ship needed to be pulled off the port by the tugs. The ship then limped towards Dublin at reduced speed since the propulsion problem was not resolved. Dublin wasn’t reached until 3pm the next day (9 hours late) which meant another port of call lost.....one due to weather (Guernsey) and one due to a non seaworthy ship (Dublin). The port for Edinburgh, Scotland was a tender port. We boarded a tender from a port side tender company to get off the ship and all went well. For the return, we boarded a Princess tender and the engines failed. After the fully loaded tender was banged around by the waves and pier for over 10 minutes we had to get off the Princess tender. We were moved to the independent company tender and thankfully it was operational. The stateroom hallways look like a battle zone. With dented panels up and down the corridors ...assume from the luggage. Can see significant staff reductions throughout the ship....another Princess corporate screw up. Now that they have expensive beverage packages available, there is no one that knows about the wine in the main dining rooms...no wine stewards or sommeliers! On several occasions drinks would take 20+ minutes in the dining room. Observed at an adjacent table to ours a lady get up, leave the dining room, and return with drinks. She smiled at us and said “we have to fend for ourselves”. She then proceeded to quietly start clearing some dishes from their table. Yikes! One night our waiter would give us updates every 5 minutes or so on our drink order status.....”the bar is backed up”. Bulletin, it’s dinner time on a cruise ship! More staff reductions by Princess and I am certain that the Princess executives will take this out on the poor staff when it is not their fault....100% I blame Princess corporate for the staff reductions throughout the ship. Oh, by the way, when my wife’s wine arrived over 20 minutes after ordering it was the wrong wine. We did not say anything. Internet and tv were down for two days. In a stroke of genius, Princess gave us 60 minutes of free internet to compensate for all the travel delays their non seaworthy ship caused. Such a nice gesture because the internet had been down for the last 2 days! Update...when the internet did start working, sporadically, the two voucher codes Princess provided to our stateroom for 60 complimentary minutes each....Did Not Work! I could continue and add several more issues with this ship but I think the point is made. Adios Princess....I hope this helps others anticipate what you are getting into with a company now at rock bottom. Read Less

Everything was great - itinerary, food, the ship, and service. We picked the cruise up in Le Havre, spending 3 days prior in Normandy and 5 nights in Paris. There is a free shuttle from the train station in Le Havre to the ship or take a taxi. We did traditional dining for most nights and had great table mates. We used anytime dining for some late excursion days. Ate at the Crown Grill specialty restaurants and enjoyed the Crab Shack night for King Crab. Service was exceptional. The Horizon Court was our go-to breakfast and service there was great including my husband’s special requests. The cruise director and staff did an excellent job. There was so much to do aboard ship we didn’t even scratch the surface. Entertainment was very good to excellent with some definite standouts. The music and dancing options were all enjoyable. We did all but one excursion from Princess. Most were excellent. The ports and overall itinerary was great. Lots of options for excursions and we did a lot of full day excursions. Would highly recommend this cruise for the British Isles unless you like bus touring. You see so many great ports and places. Read Less

We have cruised 18 times with Princess and with the exception of this last cruise, it has always been excellent. This cruise was a bargain basement boat ride. It was a costly, disorganized, irritating disaster. The Versailles tour was an aggravating nightmare, depriving us of the opportunity of a lifetime. Princess was responsible for a 45 minute late start. The tour category of moderate should have been strenuous. Our tour guide was preoccupied with participants, including wheelchair and walkers who needed assistance. Consequently, we got an expensive bus ride and a quick look at the palace. No time for the grounds, musical presentation or gift shop. Do not pay for the useless Dublin shuttle service. It is much less expensive and more convenient to taxi. Our balcony looked like a leftover garage sale. On the plus side; the staff was courteous and helpful. The service and food at the dining room was very good. Sabatini's was better than ever and the Crown Grill was first class. The production shows were fun, lively and entertaining . We did not "Come Back New", we came back angry. Princess WAS "Where We Belong". We hope they fix it. Read Less

We took the 12 night British Isles trip in June. This is probably my eighth cruise and first on Princess. The good is that the ship was nice, the staff was hard working, the food was always decent to very good with a large and changing selection on the buffet. The pre-destination talks were informative and we caught a couple of art lectures that were very interesting. That said, the activities and entertainment were all but non-existent. This was the British Isles so, no surprise, it was overcast or raining literally 100% of our trip. Because of the weather, the pools were permanently closed and the decks were windy and cold so, unlike other cruises, you couldn't just go sit by the pool. Seriously, there was almost nothing to do on the ship but eat and watch TV in our rooms which made for a boring vacation. Rarely did we see something we were interested in on the schedule (lots of sales pitches masquerading as entertainment). The three dancing/singing shows we saw were good but there were only three, hour long shows in twelve nights. My teens and I went to the Teen Club and the person running it made it clear they were there for baby sitting and there was zero actual activities for teens. It was the "Not Fun" Ship. For example, we expected to see the White Cliffs of Dover on this trip since we were going by them anyway (like we saw the Ne Pali coast on our Hawaii cruise). But if we did sail by them, nobody told us and we never saw them. In fact, we sailed by interesting looking coastlines regularly but, unlike other cruises, we were never told what we were seeing and couldn't even find out if we wanted to as the Internet fees were astronomical and the ship board map on the TV in the rooms showing where the ship was at that time didn't work. This would have been so easy for Princess to do, cost them nothing extra, and would have been a big enhancement to this dull cruise. Even the bars were not good as the terribly expensive drinks were incredibly weak. Want to know how to make a Princess Long Island Ice Tea? First, pack the glass to the brim full of ice, only fill each jigger of liquor three-quarters full, then fill it up with lemon juice and coke instead of just a splash. Princess, you charged me an premium high price of $10 for each drink plus a forced ~$2 tip so why not at least make them good? Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the stop in "Paris" which we'd expected to be a trip highlight. The truth is that the port of Le Havre is at least 2.5 hours one way to anything in Paris you'd want to see (3 to Normandy Beach) so you're actually getting a full day on a bus with a couple of hours at a venue that would really deserve a full day. We'd planned on seeing the Lourve on our own but when we found out it was going to be over five hours on the bus, we went to the excursion desk to specifically book anything with less travel time as we especially didn't want to spend all day on a bus the day before we spent all day on a plane flying home. The woman at the Princess Excursion desk either purposefully misled us to sell the trip or was ignorant when she said the trip to Versailles was only 1.5 hours each way . As soon as we got on the bus, they said it was actually a 2.5 hour bus trip but then because of traffic and weather, ended up being a 4 hour bus trip there and a three hour bus trip back. We literally ran through Versailles in only 40 minutes before we had to be back on the bus. I called the excursion desk to speak to the manager and was never called back. My family of 4 paid almost $1100 for a little more than thirty minutes at the venue so it was the most expensive bus trip of my life and a terrible missed opportunity in our lifetimes. Needless to say, I would not take this cruise again and will stay away from Princess altogether. Read Less

I chose this cruise because I love visiting the UK and could visit some new places as well as revisit others and catch more of the sights. It was port intensive with only 2 sea days. I took the NEX bus from Heathrow to Southampton, cost £26 and spent a few days prior to the cruise exploring Southampton and visiting the Isle of Wight. Embarkation went smoothly with no waiting, luggage promptly delivered. My passport was taken from me on embarkation, but unlike other times when my passport was taken, I was not given a photocopy to carry as ID. I had to wait in line at passenger services and then another 10 mins while the staff member hunted for my passport and copied it. Just use your drivers license he says. Yeh right, as if you bring unnecessary documentation half way round the world. My passport was given back after leaving Edinburgh. The fun started at dinner time. Four of the people sitting at my table had got on in Dublin and were almost at the end of their cruise. Their dinner was disrupted by lots of new guests arriving as well as new wait staff as staff were rotated through dining rooms. The captain was new as well. On this cruise you can get on in Dublin, Le Havre as well as Southampton where the bulk of people seemed to get on. I also met a group of 10 who got on in Southampton and were getting off in Le Havre. The “hop-on, hop-off” nature of the cruise led to perceived disorganisation and subsequent lack of enjoyment by quite a few passengers. It must work for Princess but I could see why people were unhappy although I’m not fussed who I have dinner with and which crew I interact with, people getting on and off and so on. The thing that annoyed me the most was all the tendering and wasting of time that goes with it. Even if everything is running smoothly it still takes an hour from ship to port even though the tender ride may only be 15 minutes. Guernsey was the worst. The tenders stopped running for about an hour due to rough seas so I arrived back at the wharf at around 2.20, the last tender being 3pm to find at least half the ship waiting in queues snaking around the wharf. Sometime after 4pm I got on the tender…..and it was formal night too! Forget it. The lines were also long in Kirkwall but not quite as bad and in South Queensferry, the port had put on some extra boats of its own that carried more people. The crew helping people on and off the tenders were great and I felt I was firmly held onto by the arm/hand as the tender bobbed around at times. Needless to say, on my next cruise in November there are no tenders. The ports of call and getting into town included- Guernsey – tender to pier a few minutes walk from town. Cobh – terminal is adjacent to the train station if you want to go to Cork and a few minutes walk to town. Heritage Centre adjacent to wharf has lots of souvenirs and a café with free wifi. Dublin – is a working pier so you are not allowed walk in the area. Free shuttle bus to town which drops you at Merrion Square opposite the Oscar Wilde statue. My excursion stopped here for those who wanted to stay in town before returning to the ship. Belfast – Shuttle available to town. Drops off near the City Hall US$16 return. Greenoch – terminal is about 5 mins walk to town. Lots of souvenirs and free wifi available in the terminal. Bus station and train station about 10-15 mins walk. Free bus tours around Greenoch fill fast – 3 available. Kirkwall – tender to pier, a few minutes walk to town. Invergordon – 5 minute walk to town. Souvenir shop on wharf. Edinburgh – tender to pier near Forth Bridge then X99 Lothian bus to central Edinburgh. Cost £9 return. Ticket good for the local buses as well. Drops off at St Andrews Square. Staff there to help with questions. Le Havre – shuttle bus to town centre US$20 return. As usual, the staff are cheerful, helpful and professional. I enjoyed the selections in the dining room and also the buffet has plenty of choice. The buffet didn’t have many tables for 2 or 4, mainly larger tables but they did open up both sides and Café Caribe for seating. I love the shows and talks I went to. Way too cold for Movie under the Stars and indeed rare to see people sitting outside. As always there are plenty of onboard activities and shopping. The TV system was antiquated. The Menu gave starting times for some programs but others eg. Port talk watch Ch 21. Could be watching for ages until it came on. Nothing on demand so I gave up. A few days before the end of the cruise the tech man came in and changed the TV over to the new on demand viewing which I had on my last cruise 7 months ago. Fabulous. Better late than never. The ship is in the process of updating to Ocean Medallion. The laundry was also a disappointment. There were only 2 washers and 2 dryers per laundry sitting side by side unlike the 4 washers and 4 dryers above they have on other Princess ships. I finally got my washing done just before 10pm one evening with others still waiting. I’d checked a few laundries a few times earlier, long queues. Disembarkation was another time waster. I was on a bus to Victoria Station. Despite the written and verbal instructions and crew waving people to their luggage in the terminal, two ladies living in their own bubble just got on the bus without collecting their luggage. Sometime later it occurred to the crew to look on the bus for them. So off they get to retrieve their luggage. While they are doing that a man who had time to dress in all the latest spiffy sportswear, gets off saying he has left his wallet and passport in the safe! So eventually we leave 45 mins later which stretches out to over an hour because we hit the Sat morning London traffic. That gives me less time do what I had planned. NEX doesn’t hold up paying customers and at US$59 for the transfer those people choosing not to follow instructions should just have been put on the next bus. I did enjoy the cruise- the ports, excursions, shows and dining and those comfy beds, but the peripheral things that give you the carefree experience were lacking and as this was the most expensive cruise ($ per day wise) I’d been on then I can only rate it as average. Read Less

We chose our first Princess Cruise because we were celebrating my husband’s retirement - and we always wanted to visit Scotland and Ireland. We arrived in London 5 days early and visited the major tourist attractions. A Princess bus picked us up at Victoria Station and drove us to Southampton. Embarkation was very organized. We had to wait awhile, but chairs were provided and we were called in groups, so not too much standing in line. Our balcony stateroom was located on Deck 15 forward. It was clean and nice, and we loved the location. Our room steward was efficient, for the most part. We only saw him on check-in day. We asked that ice be provided each day, and he took good care of us for most of the cruise. However, the last few days, he took the ice bucket away and never brought ice again. There was an awful smell in one section our hallway, that never went away. It smelled like the carpet might have molded. We had to walk through that area coming and going to our room. It was disgusting. The people on this cruise were almost entirely quite old. We are 60ish - and were some of the youngest. I did see a couple of teenagers - who were probably bored to tears. This meant a lot of canes and scooters and slow walkers. They held up lines and elevators, and much patience was required on excursions as they took forever to load and unload buses. Many were very rude as well - cutting in line and ignoring instructions. The excursions were good, for the most part. We enjoyed the places we visited. Often, however, our play time was cut short - we would gather in a designated area on the ship and wait for our group to be called - then follow the leader up and down stairs to get off the ship and to our tour busses. Alternatively, we would follow that procedure to get on tenders - nightmare! There were not enough tenders, which meant long waits to get ashore and load the busses. All of this meant that the excursions sometimes got a late start - and we had very little time to shop or see anything on our own. If I had it to do over, I would definitely explore booking excursions through local companies - rather than Princess. We could have been off the ship earlier, had more time on shore, and saved money. The food was okay - but the choices were limited and became quite boring. If you want steak, visit the premium steak house onboard - do not order steak in the main dining room. I tried it twice and was thoroughly disappointed both times. The steaks were tough, tasteless, and full of gristle. I do highly recommend the creme brûlée, however. Room Service is still free - some cruise lines are charging a fee. But, the menu is extremely limited. Nothing memorable about the food at all. Entertainment on the ship was just boring. They definitely played to the older crowd - big band music, bingo, crafting get togethers, boring stage shows. I looked forward to the outdoor movies on deck. However, it was too cold on deck in the evenings and you couldn’t clearly see the screen during the day. We spent most of our ship time resting, watching tv, and eating. There wasn’t much else interesting to do. Staff was mostly efficient, but not too friendly. Unlike other cruises I’ve been on, the staff did not seem to enjoy their jobs, and were not particularly interested in the cruisers. They did their jobs, but gave nothing extra. Disembarkation was very smooth and quick. We had breakfast, met at our assigned location, and were quickly off the ship. The luggage was organized, and we met our driver in very short order. Overall, we enjoyed our trip because of the wonderful people in England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. We saw wonderful buildings and exhibits. I’ve always loved cruising, but this particular ship, with its boring entertainment, ho-hum staff, and limited food selection, was nothing special. I need to add - we were hot the entire time we were onboard. We lowered the temperature in our room as much as possible, but had to open our balcony door for cool air. All of the public rooms were hot, and we sweated through every meal. For that reason alone, I would not repeat this cruise. Read Less

We have been on Princess for 9 cruises. The 11 day itinerary for Paris and the British Isles drew us to this cruise. It was a good choice although with 2 busy pre-cruise days in Paris, and 11 days with 9 ports it was extremely active and probably not for people who are looking for a R&R vacation Embarkation at Le Harve was remarkably fast due to so few people starting the cruise there. We had no wait, took maybe 10 minutes. There are two other embarkation ports. People seem to be getting on and off constantly which does effect some of the usual rhythm of the time on the ship. The ship was clean, staff everywhere were friendly and helpful. The waitstaff exceptional in every dinning option. The MDR food good but we thought it has changed over our 15 years of cruises. Some recipes and dishes were a bit off, such as pasta sauce that was just too sweet for Italian Hubby. Entertainment, when we could stay up, was good, 3 very funny comedians especially. One thing we didn't like on this cruise was 3 tender ports, with slow access to the tenders and very long lines, more than 1 1/2 hrs standing in lines with hundreds of people trying to get back to ship. It was also very stressful to get off the ship, lining up for tender tickets at least 1 hr ahead of the start time in order to meet up with the private tours we booked. The ports of call: Guernsey, a beautiful English island with a fascinating past, both ancient and WWll with the German occupation. We had to take the tenders there, and got off in St. Peter Port a lovely, friendly little town with nice shops. There are pretty cottages and ocean views all around the island. In a private taxi you can do it in 3 hrs nicely. The locals are warm and welcoming and seem to be happy to share their special little island with us. London, no real option except bus tour which was long, never got off except lunch. Drive by of the big sights very unsatisfactory, $179 pp. Wehad expected photo stops at least and there were none. Ireland, Cobb/Cork , we took a private taxi tour of the Kinsale coast . The lush green of the countryside is lovely. Dublin and Belfast, all beautiful stops. We took Paddywagon tours in Dublin and Belfast to Giants Causeway. A fantastic value, Tiernan our driver-guide for both trips was fantastic, fun and a fountain of Irish knowledge. The Antrim coast is beautiful. The Museum in Belfast is free to see the "Bog people" and definately find your way to get a pint at The Crown-an iconic Irish pub. I think Scotland stole my heart, so beautiful , so much history. Get into the highlands! Taxi George Dunoon took us all around lochs chapels, Inverary castle and beautiful vistas from Grenoch. In the Orkney Islands, Kirkwall, The Standing stones of the Ring of Brogdar and ancient Neolithic age ruins of Skara Brae were facinating. In Invergordon, our best day, with a private guided tour. A kilted, very tall Scotsman , Gavin Nicholson of Invergordon tours, showed us the Highlands and included a scotch and chocolate tasting, a falconry display at Dunrobin castle , and a gorgeous highland drive. Edinburgh,was a day in town on our own. Edinburgh Castle and the Royal mile will take up all your time in port. Its easy to fill up your time on your own. We took a $25 taxi each way- they line up just off the pier. Disembarkation was very smooth. And transfer to Charles DeGaul airport took about 3 hrs. Read Less

Overall loved our trip just not the cruise portion. Princess dropped the ball on organization. Embarkation was smooth and done well. Then it went sideways. The front desk staff was so disorganized and customer service seemed unimportant. They would make a mistake on paperwork or requests and just say it was our fault. Disembarkation was terrible because of yet another series of mistakes they made and has running all over the ship for customs by there direction in a letter sent to our room. Only to find out oh you don’t need to do this. 2 hours of our morning. The food was mediocre at best. No real variety on Buffett and quality was low and seating very difficult. The dining room staff and bartender we had still understood cruising but princess has turned into a traveling flea market. They took up valuable seating space for art auctions on sea days. We struggled to find somewhere to sit and enjoy a cocktail or play a game. The off hours dining options were good but liked to close early. The ports were amazing and I highly recommend the destination but possibly choose another cruise line. Read Less

At the completion of this cruise my wife and myself have taken 4 cruises with 2 cruise lines and have 26 nights at sea with Princess. The on board part of the cruise were very good but all performance with respect to excursions and departing the ship in part ranged from average to totally unacceptable. With respect to our shore excursions that were 100% purchased thru Princess we found the excursions were misrepresented by the description. The worst was the GCI210A German Military Occupation in Guernsey. The German Military Hospital was a series of empty tunnels that were equivalent to walking thru a sewer system. The other stop was a small museum. This excursion cost $140.00 per person. When I talked to the excursion staff on board the Crown Princess and Princess Cruises I was blown off. Most of the other excursions did not allow sufficient time at a location to see the points of interest. When at Blarney Castle the line to get to the Blarney Stone was longer than the total time on site. Forget seeing the gardens or Woolen Mill. We also had our all day tour of Dublin cancelled while on the cruise. This really opened my eyes as we did Dublin on our own and saw more that an expensive all day excursion would have offered. Getting off the ship in port was so very poor. We meet several people at dinner that missed 3rd party all day excursions to Paris because they could not get off the ship. Based on my experiences and the being treating very poorly by Princess Cruises personnel we no longer view Princess Cruises as our preferred cruise supplier.We will only use them on an exception basis. If we book a future Princess Cruise we will not book any excursion thru Princess Cruises. Read Less

Enjoyed a pre-cruise day in London sightseeing. Independent transportation to the pier via Stonehenge. Great couple days. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. Luggage arrived in cabin in less than 30 mins after boarding. First time our cabin steward didn't make it a point to come and introduce himself to us. He did an adequate job. I had balcony cabin B701. Good location. I have sailed on Crown many times and prefer the Baja deck. Had 7:15 traditional dining in MDR. Since this was a port intensive cruise we were not able to dine there every night. Menu was fine. Same entrees as always with the exclusion of escargot. Enjoyed the Crown Grill one evening. It was delicious as always but price continues to go up. Enjoyed the buffet each morning. Selection was good. Disappointed the fitness center didn't allow passengers to use the treadmills until 8 am although I did understand. Difficult to use with early ports almost everyday. Love MUTS but too cold on this cruise to enjoy. However, I did ask for movie popcorn every night! You had to go hunt for it but I was able to get some. Ports were wonderful!!! My biggest surprise was the chaos getting on and off the ship at almost every port. Long queues, people upset, trouble getting gangways up, steep gangways, passengers getting on and off with luggage, etc. It was really a pain. I understand delays when it is a tender port but simply walking off should never be an issue. Overall great cruise. I would highly recommend. The layout and the size of the Crown works well for me. Read Less

We chose the British Isles! Great ports, short on time, but we did so much I don't know where they would have found more time. Overall experience was great. All of the ports were fun and had loads of things to do. Perhaps one change would be stay one day in Doublin and two days in Edinburgh! We chose outside tours and were thrilled with them. Saved a considerable amount of money on them, too. The tours are smaller, personalized and just more fun than those offered by Princess. We had big problems with the assistance at the Front Service Desk. A JOKE! Fortunately everything went pretty smoothly, but the one hiccup was a major deal. Unfortunately, the Service Desk agents gave a different answer for the same question. Even asking to speak with the manager didn't get much help. Promised to call back and never did. Unacceptable. Apparently getting off the ship for a few days is something no one has ever done before (hah)! Our friends got approval from Princess before making reservations. The Crown Princess did everything to make this a terrible expereince for them. On the departure date they were told to go to immigration at 6:40am. They did. They were sent to three different places and no one was there. Nice way to end the cruise. The dinners were fine. Quality a little less than it used to be. We had an outstanding waiter at dinner who made the entire trip worthwhile. Hermanie was excellent! We never saw the Captain (except at the Platinum and Above Cocktail Awards event). Saw very few of the 'suits' walking around. Usually they are a lot more present than that. The Crown Princess is getting worn. It needs updating. The public bathrooms were terrible, tile falling off the wall, etc. Carpeting in the buffet was worn out. It has always been such a beautiful ship it's a shame to see it in such a state of disrepair. But the beauty of the British Isles is worth the trip. Such a lovely area to enjoy. The peace, beauty and history are worth the trip. Read Less

The only thing I would change would be to tell Princess that when they travel to Europe in April and May they choose a ship with a retractable roof so people can enjoy the beautiful swimming pools and hot tubs. They should also have a non alcoholic option for their gifts and prizes not everyone consumes alcohol. We loved the food but found there were too many seafood options and too much spinach done in variety of ways. The food in the Horizon restaurant was fabulous great variety. Another area they need to improve on is the shore excursions and how they handled the groups getting off the ship. We stood everyday in ridiculous lines to have a sticker with a number slapped on our person. They didn’t have enough people working that process. They should have the groups gather in an area and as a group is called they exit through a door where someone is waiting to provide them with a number sticker. Read Less

This was my 4th Princess cruise and may be my last. The cruise started in Southampton England. It just came from transitioning over from Fort Lauderdale and a good number of guests stayed on board for the second part of the cruise. The ship holds approximately 3,000 guests. Day 1. Upon arrival, our room was available enabling us immediate access. The room looked like it hadn't been thoroughly cleaned for a while. There was dust on the tables, headboards and lamp bases. The rug was stained and needed a good vacuuming, it probably should be replaced. The bed was made but not to the standard we experienced on prior Princess cruises. There was no ice in ice bucket, and when our steward finally filled it after asking him to do so. He never checked it again to see if it needed to be refilled. Day 3. We decided to eat breakfast in the main dining room vs the buffet. Being a party of 6 it was difficult finding a place to eat in the buffet. People would just sit there after they finished eating, taking up space for other guests to eat. The service in the main dining room was horrendous. We never experienced such a disorganized crew. It took approximately 30 minutes to get juice and coffee. When the food finally came, it was cold, and bagel I ordered was as hard as a rock. I didn’t have the time to wait to send it back since I was going on an excursion. The ship’s procedure for returning passports they had retrieved from us when first checked in, definitely needs to be reviewed and fixed. We were first told our passports would be delivered to our room. It turned out, some were delivered to their rooms and others were not. Some people were told their passports were missing when they were at the customer service desk. Some passengers were told their passports were lost, upsetting many passengers. We never received our passports so we had to go to customer service waiting in long lines to retrieve them. Another couple we sailed with said their steward knocked on their door and said he only had one passport. He said they lost the other passport. He told them to go to the customer service to see about the missing passport. The first time they went to customer service they were told their passport would be delivered to their room later in day. After waiting a half a day for their passport, they went back to customer service again and were told their passports were at the Irish Immigration terminal and would arrive the next day. They were so upset. They went back again and customer service asked if they changed rooms. On their fourth visit to customer service, the staff member finally went in back and returned with their missing passports. All they did was make up stories to try to appease the situation. They tried to dismiss my friends saying they didn’t need the passports anyway. This is totally unacceptable. My excursion in Ireland that day started off good. Then during a stop at Trinity College, the tour guide sped to the entrance leaving behind half the guests on the coach. It was impossible trying to find her, she just disappeared. We never found her until we re-boarded the bus to return to the ship. We were pretty much on our own, which was upsetting since we paid for a guided tour which we never received. Upon returning to the ship after the excursion, the line to get back on the ship was about 600 people deep. The crew kept reversing the lines, people were bumping into each other, and they actually stopped the entry onto the ship for no apparent reason. The entire crew was disorganized and need to be retrained on how to deal with crowd control. In the past Princess never charged for hot chocolate at the buffet. This was the first time we had to pay for hot chocolate while on the cruise. I cannot drink coffee or tea so I was upset to discover this new charge. Also, if you want a coffee or tea at the International Cafe, Princess now charges their guest, where in the past they did not. This is absurd. They appear to be looking for new ways to rip off the consumer. Day 9. My excursion today was in Edinburgh. The excursion was delayed by 1/2 hour due to the disorganization of the staff. Day 10. As the cruise continued, staff had finally worked out some of the kinks with the shore excursion and the food selection had improved. By the end of the cruise it appeared everyone on the cruise was either sick or getting sick. I myself got sick on the last day of the cruise. Since the cruise transitioned from Fort Lauderdale, and there were still approximately 1,200 guests on-board, I do not think staff had adequate time to fully sanitize the ship. Additionally, guests were getting off and on at different ports along the cruise. Plus waiting in long lines at the ports in the cold did not help the situation. Our room steward did not properly put our disembarkation tags where we could find them. When we finally did, we noticed they were not for the time was asked customer service to exit the ship. We had to go back to customer service again to get the correct tags for disembarkation. Day 11. We took an excursion to Paris which was definitely not long enough; three hours each way on the bus, leaving only four hours to see Paris. It would have been great while in ports such as Paris and Edinburgh they had overnight stays. Plus they should offer face masks to their guests for the bus ride to avoid getting sick. Day 12. The night before the end of the cruise, we noticed the tag was missing off the water they offered for sale, that we never used. When we looked at our bill we noticed a charge for the water. We asked our steward about the charge and he said the bottle was opened which was an outright lie. We went to customer service and they reversed the charge. Seriously, it’s going to take a lot for me to cruise again on Princess. Read Less

We selected this trip to the British Isles because the itinerary looked great and the price was a good deal. We were accompanied by another couple we've cruised with many times. The embarkation went smoothly when we arrived at the port. A porter was there4 immediately to take care of our luggage so we were all set to go check in. There was no waiting line. The check-in staff was friendly and efficient. We were onboard in less than 20 minutes and able to go directly to our cabin! From the time we arrived at the port to sitting down for some lunch took 30 minutes! Impressive!! The ship is showing a bit of age, with some dings and dents along corridors, but overall is still a nice ship. The itinerary for this cruise was very port intensive and although we enjoyed all the ports and excursions we did, it was not a relaxing trip, so just be prepared for a busy trip if you intend to partake of all the many places to be seen on this trip. Many of the city centers are located a distance from the port, necessitating some type of transportation to get from the ship port to town to see or do anything. Princess did not advise us prior to the cruise that they provide a bus from the pier to city in Dublin, as well as 2 other ports. Once aboard for a couple of days, we received a flyer in our cabin, with prices of $8 each way, $16 round trip from city center and back to port. They will also provide a free bus to the port gate in Dublin, just because it is a working commercial port and the authorities do not allow guests to walk around in the port area for safety reasons. However, the free ride to the port gate then requires you to get some type of transportation to the city, so might as well sign up for an excursion or taxi to get you into town. It's quite a walk to get into the city center to see most things that guests go to Dublin to see. The ports were all wonderful and each held it's own excitement of different things to experience. Had the BEST fish and chips at a bar/restaurant across the street from Christ Church in Dublin. There was another famous...very recommended fish and chips place but it was carryout only and after walking for miles that day, we had to have a place to sit down and the bar across the street from Christ Church was perfect! I tried fish and chips in 3 other places during the trip and none compared to this place. My receipt doesn't have the name of the bar, just address 19 Fishamble Street, Christchurch, Dublin. The portion was large enough that we split just 1 order and it was plenty!! We had purchased the London Pass since our flight arrived at 5 Am and we planned on taking all that day and the next morning to see London before heading to Southampton to spend the night before boarding the ship on May 1. There are many things included in the London Pass, but I'm not sure we got our money's worth because did not use the Hop on Hop off bus to get around because they were too slow to come back around. Taxied to several places but still were just not able to see many places we had in our Passbook. We did enjoy the Churchill War rooms, which were included in the London Pass....very interesting and insightful visit. Took a 90-minute coach tour around the island of Guernsey...only 10 pounds each and was a great way to see the island without walking and still had a bit of time to see some of the port area after we returned. The residents there were so lovely and friendly! Did the typical tourist things in Dublin...Christ Church, Dublin Castle, Trinity College (the books of Kell and library close right at 5 so unable to get in to see them) Guinness Storehouse. Unless you are a fan of beer/ale, I found the $25 Euro to tour Guinness very steep to tour a distillery. They do provide you with 3 nice sized samples at the end of the tour, but since neither my husband or I drink beer, it was a bit pricey for us.....went because our other couple wanted to tour it. Went to a great dinner and celtic dancing and music at Belvedere hotel 44 Euros per person. Excellent show and we enjoyed it immensely, but heard from others on the cruise that there are many pubs that have free music and dancing, pub crawls with music and dancing, so that could be a different option for those that enjoy beer. Our final tour was from LeHavre to Normandy D Day beaches and sites. Excellent tour with 8 guests and a driver. He was very informative and animated during the tour....owner and operator of Spearhead tours. Disembarkation was bit slower than embarkation as they had passengers winding around various areas and took quite some time. Once off the ship though, claiming luggage was fairly easy....self service carts for no charge. There were porters, but they did not seem interested in helping passengers get luggage...unlike in the US! Had a private taxi back to Heathrow, 1.5 hours of relaxation. I believe the transfer for Princess is $69 per person for the bus. We paid 119 pounds for all 4 of us. It was a wonderful trip and I would highly recommend the ship and the itinerary. Read Less

Whilst we've had good experiences on former Princess cruises, we've never been on a Crown-class ship. We selected the cruise entirely for the itinerary & we loved all the ports visited but I'm afraid we were rather disappointed with the ship & its services (except for the dining rooms that had great waiters as always). 1. The first day tendering was horrendous, waited more than 2 hours to get on a tender boat cutting our time on shore & we didn't get to see much. But what made it worse was the constant blaming on others by the Crown staff - "we don't operate the tender boat; we have no say etc etc" Then in the evening the cruise director said "at 6 am there were no one & what can we do when 2000 people showed up all at once at 9 ? Hope you know what to do on our next tender port " Although she said it half jokingly but it left a really sour note with us !! Wouldn't they had anticipated it ? Couldn't they at least made passengers feel better by talking to us nicely ? 2. The cabin rooms: showing aging signs everywhere. Wood stains on the balcony were chipped & faded; shower curtain stained & smelly; no luggage mat to pack or unpack. 3. Went on 1 ship's excursion only & again the organization was terrible. We were told to wait at one area but it really was another. We were herded around & we paid almost $200 each for the experience! Its such poor management & unfriendly customer handling, you would think they had never done excursions before! 4. Entertainment was so-so except for the great final performance by the ship's ensemble. Read Less

We chose this cruise to celebrate my mothers 80th birthday and because of the the Ports of call.The best part of this ship was the bed other than that the entertainment on board,food quality,friendliness of staff,and the organization of disembarking the ship at ports of call was terrible.Our room at 7am ran out of hot water to have a shower so did everyone on our deck and the cabin attendant response to us was we didn't know how to use the shower.This was day 3 of the Cruise. In the dining room the menu was very limited but if you wanted to pay a additional $20 you could get a steak etc.The wine list was way over priced and nothing we would pay over $40 a bottle for. They also forgot my mothers Birthday and apologized they got to busy but would do the next day.We told them not to bother we will do it somewhere else.The buffet was like going to a upscale cafeteria very bland food and no imagination and the worst tasting coffee ever, glad I paid extra for the coffee card.Disembarking by tender to Guernsey took 2 hours and another 1 hour to get back to the ship.Shore excursions where almost double what I paid for the same thing and in Dublin,Belfast and Le Havre if you wanted to just go to town and wonder around you had to pay from $16 to $20 per person for a shuttle to leave the port.There is a free shuttle in Dublin but they didn't tell you that we found out by asking the taxi driver we hired that was cheaper than the shuttle.We have been on many cruises and this Princess cruise has put us off cruises for awhile.Even at the end of the cruise after paying to have them take to Heathrow to go home there was no staff around to assist us to finding our coach to take us to the airport.Our Group of 7 with another 10 plus guests eventually found our ride to the airport no thanks to the Crown Princess staff.If you like boring entertainment,activities,bad service,overpriced excursions and being nickled and dimed then this is the ship for you. Read Less

This was our 6th. cruise with Princess, and it will be our last. The ship is in need of repairs. The varnish on the balcony railings was peeling off. The sliding glass door in our room would only open part way in the morning, but once it got warm it would open all the way. Hot water in the shower was hit or miss. The toilet malfunctioned twice. The couch in the room looked like one you would find in a second hand store (lumpy, stained, ect.). The desk and chair should have been replaced. Our room attendant was one of the best we had on any cruise. I found that the bar staff, the wait staff in the main dining were also excellent. The people responsible for shore excursions really need help. We were misdirected by the staff on two excursions. We were give the wrong tour packet once. We had one tendered port and the wait time to get off the ship was over an hour. I really don"t know what the problem was, but I never experienced these long wait times on my 6 previous cruises. We cancelled a scheduled future with Princess when we got home. Read Less

We chose this cruise because my sister in law and brother in law were booked. Our brother in law is having some serious health issues and we thought it would be a nice way to spend time with them and to help out with his mobility issues. Embarkation went smoothly. But, disembarkation at some of the ports and the final disembarkation were a nightmare. At one port (I believe Belgium), since it was a working port, you had to take the Princess shuttle to get you to the gate. They had only one bus- for 3,000+ people. Most everyone was late for their excursions and thus had the time shortened for each excursion. At one point (I believe for Southhampton) local authorities had to come aboard to do passport checking. The line literally ran the length of the ship- and this is one big ship. One gentleman passed out in line, hit his head, and as knocked unconscious. At our final disembarkation in Dublin, it was chaos. Again, crazy long lines. We had been told that only 56 people were disembarking there- wrong! There had to be at least 500. We had also been told that there would be no taxi service at the port. Because of my brother in laws mobility issues, the ship booked a taxi for us. But, as we got off the ship, there was a huge line of taxis waiting and no way to track down if any of them were for us. We literally got one of the last taxis. On another note, my sister in law and I did the zumba class every day while at sea. While the instructor was nice, she did the exact same routine to the exact same songs each day. I have never been to a zumba class like this before. The food was OK- nothing memorable. The burger joint on the Lido deck was a huge disappointment- thin dry hamburgers and thin dry chicken. We had gone to a similar burger place on a Holland America ship that was amazing. On a positive note, the pizza was surprisingly good with a different specialty pizza each day. I don't believe that I would do a transatlantic crossing again. My husband enjoyed it but I found it monotonous- like Groundhog Day every day. The crew were very nice and helpful- no issues there. We had a standard balcony room and it was fine. The ship itself had a few signs of wear and tear but was otherwise in good condition. Read Less

Good Cruise but major work needed on embarkation and disembarkation. The current processes while in port are cumbersome and lead to long lines and long waits to return to the ship. One of the re-embarkation security stations actually brought cruisers back on board in the middle of Crooners Bar. Security stations when returning to the ship are undermanned with the line stopping each time someone needed to be patted down since the person conducting the pat downs was also running the xray machines. Customs review was a TOTAL DISASTER and no officers seemed to be managing the process. We were told to report at 10 a.m. but it was not until nearly 11 a.m. until we reached customs agents. There are only 3 agents for 3,200 customers. There did not appear to be anyone running the process and the process was a debacle at best. It is unfortunate that as one of the last events onboard the ship would be memory of the horrors of going through customs with ship personnel in total disarray. Casino has heavy smell of smoking. Need to discontinue the cigar bar and repaint this area to get rid of the heavy scent of cigarettes and cigars. We normally use the casino but not this trip. On the upside we found the cabin, dining room and other staff members to be a joy and greatly enhanced our experience. Our thanks to them. Read Less

5th princess cruise and like many, probably our last. Pro: good enrichment, nice crew. Cons: Princess is showing its age - from all the old ploys (endless pictures, shopping galore,cheaper and cheaper food and toiletries, etc) to the endless “clubs’. Ice cream, cokes, coffee, water, wine. There’s the absurd charge for internet (99% profit - costs the same for 300 folks as it does for 400). Food was the worst it’s ever been. Never sat at so many tables where folks simply took one bite and left. One lunch 5 / 8 left and we stayed only because I was starved. Bread was universally panned - pardon the pun. (So hard it actually hurt.) Irritating “specialty dining”. We ate once in Crown Grill - quite good but the $29.95 / person plus $10 “fee” plus 15% add on for wine made it our last. I never saw anyone in there the entire time. Many complaints over unhealthy practice of coughing folks ‘ nosecwipers, etc serving themselves. All those who could serve are too busy hawking binoculars, pictures, spa, videos, bingo, junk t-shirts, jewelry, etc. one lady said it was like a mid eastern bizarre. Organization problems as a well as lack of knowledge of ship. Lost count of the number of times we were sent in the wrong direction / floor. Entertainment was hit and miss - good individual, very poor group routines (all these comments are repeats of others by the way). The passport check was a disaster. Excursions were so-so. Hard to hear on 2 of the 3 we took. After paying thousands we are then asked to pay more for “good” coffee or food or ice cream. I will not offer my solution since obviously there is a core who lives all the silly games and clubs and tricks. Read Less

This cruise combined a 15 day transatlantic with a 12 day around the British Isles cruise. We are not brand loyal cruisers (15 cruises on 5 lines) selecting the cruises by the itinerary. This particularly appealed to us because of stops in the Azores and Lisbon on the transatlantic while ticking off all our desires on the round the British Isles leg. It was our first time on Princess. The cruise met our expectations for the itinerary. We had beautiful weather almost everywhere at stops in the Azores, Portugal, Belgium, England, Ireland Scotland and Northern Ireland. We got to a lot of places that would have been difficult to get to any other way. With a great itinerary but a poor ship I gave this cruise an average score overall. I would tell others to try to find the itinerary on some other ship. Although there were some bright spots, the Crown Princess was a disappointment. First, the positive. • The main dining room food and service (late seating Botticelli) were mostly outstanding. • We had lower expectations for the cabin because we knew going in that the balcony cabins have no couch (and the easy chairs shown on the room diagrams had been removed) leaving you only the bed or desk chair to sit in. We were also prepared for the small bathroom though the shower was not quite as tiny as we expected. • The cabin service provided by our room attendant was excellent. • If you do book a balcony go for one on the Caribe deck which is larger and partially covered. • The room service was very good and most important very prompt. We used it for breakfast on many of the port days on this itinerary to get an early start. • The Magic production show was outstanding as were the comedians. • Getting on the ship in Fort Lauderdale was easy and our room was ready. This may be because we tend to arrive later in the boarding cycle to avoid the crowds. • The crew was delightful - friendly and efficient. Then, the bad. I don’t know if this ship was badly managed, badly designed or both. There are many examples. • Theater - The Crown has a theater that only covers 2 desks with something like 700 seats for 3200 passengers. Do the math, with a full ship half the passengers aren’t going to the show. We noticed that passengers went to get seats ½ hour or more, cutting short there dinners to get a seat. Once in the theater the sight lines were bad from the upper level. Irish dancers aren’t nearly as interesting when you can only see them from the waste up. Even daytime enrichment and port talks were full houses in the theater. We gave up trying to go to the theater on the transatlantic cruise. • Tendering – Tendering was a nightmare. We quickly learned you had to get off early or it might be hours to disembark the ship. In Guernsey we talked to people that waited more than two hours to get off the ship and ended up with no time to do anything. When it was time to return there was a massive line. We sat at a bar overlooking the line for an hour and when it got close to last call went down and still waited ½ hour. After that experience we got off early in the other tender ports. • Customs check in Portland - On the next to last stop on the transatlantic leg UK officials came aboard in Portland before anyone could disembark the ship. They assigned us times to come. This quickly fell apart. They had 4 agents to see 3200 passengers one or two at a time. Needless to say this took a long time. We had an 8:30 time and finally joined a line that went the length of the ship around 11. This may be due to the UK authorities but the ship needs to do the math and set expectations realistically. • Getting on the ship – I heard one passenger day that the people running the gangways must have worked previously at the DMV or post office. In many ports there were large lines to board the ship. This large ship never had more than two gangways and one was often closed even though the security stations were manned. • Disembarkation in Southampton – Like most cruises, the Crown assigned disembarkation times. We arrived at our disembarkation station in one of the restaurants 10 minutes early and were told our group had already gone. We went to get off and joined another line the length of the ship to disembark. We discovered no one was enforcing the disembarkation times. Fortunately it was fast once we were off the ship. • Laundry – For a ship doing long cruises there were only 2 washers and dryers on the floors that had them (some of which were broken for 27 days). There were large lines and crowds hanging out waiting on the machines. Unlike other cruise lines, Princess had no laundry specials during the 27 day cruise. • Captain’s party - Not enough waiters for the size of the crowd. People swarmed the one door that the waiters emerged from with trays of drinks – feeding frenzy! Although we couldn’t get a glass of champagne, they had plenty for Princess’s ridiculous champagne fountain where what I assume are high rollers get their picture taken pouring champagne into a glass tower that gets nowhere close to full. The officers made a brief appearance on a balcony where you could not see them. The farewell party was much the same. • Programming – The cruise director staff did not have any idea about how to spread out the crowd. The theater was packed along with the Explorers lounge where the main stage acts often did a second show. There was rarely anyone in the large Fusion venue or the bars at the aft of the ship up top. Better planning would have made better use of the larger Fusion venue. They seemed to be rolling out the same plan that they used on their Caribbean cruises with a younger crowd. After days of lines and crowds I heard passenger say ‘Now I know why they call it an ocean liner”. The management of the ship seemed to have a “maybe they won’t notice” attitude. Princess loyalists seemed to be conditioned to all this with comments like “everyone know you have to go to the theater a half hour early”. For me going on cruises is to relax and have things be easy. On the Crown I felt like we were treated like cattle and had to work around limitations and issues with the ship. Read Less

There are Stains on many of the chairs in the Lido dining room. It was Hard to get a seat during lunch or dinner in the Lido as many people were playing cards and other games. The supervisors did not care. On one evening the supervisor talked to a couple that were playing cards for over 30 minutes. After he moved on they kept playing even though others could not get a seat for their meal. Spoke to hotel manager but nothing was done to solve the problem. Poor service ( very slow)in Lido and Dining room On Good Friday, only I fish dish served, (rockfish) Old carpet in Lido Very few activities ie golf, Wi, etc The guys were good at the activities but the females were gone in 10 minutes. Gave impressive that they did not want to be there. On port days 4 activities we’re scheduled while only 1 offered on sea days on average Read Less

I had never visited the Eastern Caribbean ports. I enjoyed the different ports: St. Kitts, Martinique, Barbados, Antiqua. St. Thomas. Grand Turks & Caicos plus the weather was beautiful.The ship staff ( waiters and cabin stewards) were wonderful. The terry cloth robe was nice. We had plenty of hangers. The cabin was small. The balcony did not have a foot stool which I would have liked. My roommate was disappointed that she was not able to obtain a chair with arms. We were told that Princess stopped supply chairs with arms. Entertainment was very enjoyable. Movies under the stars showed recent movies such as the Green Book and Mary Poppins.Touring back stage was interesting. Also was able to visit the kitchen. My Princess excursions as a whole were nice . However, I was disappointed with my St Thomas The EZ luggage check was wonderful. My luggage was checked to my return/final city. I visited Ft. Lauderdale post cruise. Yes, I would go again. Read Less

We started our holiday with a couple of extra days shopping at Sawgrass Mills, which has fantastic bargains for the British shoppers. The only real downside to our holiday was our arrival. We have since found out that we pre-paid an exhorbitant amount for our transfers and when we arrived at Miami airport, there was no one to greet us and we waited around for 15 minutes unsure what to do as a representative from Princess was not there. When we were finally shown to the taxi rank we had to wait another 45 minutes for a taxi to take us to our Hotel. The hour delay meant we hit rush hour which is a nightmare in Miami and our 45 minute journey then took 1 1/2 hours. However after that we had an amazing trip. We were unsure whether to do the drinks package as it is quite expensive and In the past we have had a middle of the range drinks package which suited us much better, but it was all or nothing on this cruise. We wouldn't have it again as you had drink quite a lot to get the benefit and taking into consideration you are off the ship on port visits on quite a few days, it would have been better to have bought this as we went. (We also met a British lady who developed an allergic reaction on the ship on the second day of the cruise and was advised not to drink alcohol and they wouldn't refund her drinks package) Compared to British spas , we found the spa on board is very expensive too. However apart from that we had a good experience. There were plenty of sunbeds and things to suit everyone. You can sit on deck by the main pool which always has a lot going on or find quieter spots by the small pool at the stern The food as usual was absolutely amazing and the evening dinners in the restaurant were superb. All the staff we came across were really friendly and couldn't do enough to help. The entertainment was also excellent and there is almost too much to choose from. Ports of Call We booked the majority of trips before we left England. St Kitts- we had a fantastic day out on a mini speed boat trip booked through Bluewater Safaris. We were picked up in a small bus and given a lovely guided tour of St Kitts from the port to the jetty where the speed boats were moored. We were given a safety talk and they got 2 people per boat and we sped over the water to a ship wreck where we went snorkelling seeing turtles and string rays and a variety of fish. It was a really enjoyable and exhilarating 3 hour experience . Martinique- we had booked a car for the day but the Avis Rental office was a ferry trip away and as the ferries were on strike we had to abandon that idea. Instead we met Awa on the promenade who offered to take us on a trip of the island . This was a fabulous day out and I would highly recommend booking Awa as she was obviously very proud of Martinique and showed it off to its best, stopping to show us the flora and fauna and was so lovely she gave us a hug at the end of our trip. She took us to the replica of the Sacre Coeur, the Balata botanical gardens, where she waited for as long as we wanted to spend there( and were beautiful), to the waterfalls , a rum distillery and St Pierre hit by a devastating volcanic eruption in 1902. I would really recommend booking her (mroad.contact@gmail.com)and although she spoke English we practised what French we knew with her too. Barbados We booked a trip on a catamaran called Calabaza. This had been recommended to us before we left and was another amazing day out. Some of the cruise tours had about 50 people on their boats, but this trip takes a maximum of 12 guests. There was as much food as you wanted, which was beautifully cooked and an endless supply of drinks. We stopped to snorkel in 2 locations and the turtles swam so closely to you it was hard to move out of their way. I didn't want the day to end. Antigua- as we wanted a bit of a relaxing day and we had been to Antigua before we stayed on the ship in this port. St Thomas- we booked tickets to go to the Pirate Museum that has recently opened. This was an excellent place to visit with interesting artefacts recovered from various ship wrecks. Upstairs there were lots of interactive exhibits with people around to talk you through them. For the pirate section we were shown round by a live Captain Jack Sparrow, who was so convincing that I'm sure he must be related to Johnny Depp and was really popular with the children. It was within walking distance of the ship and is situated next to the cable car. We spent a good couple of hours in there and you can just buy tickets on the door. Highly recommended! Grand Turks We spent the day here on the beautiful sand beach and swam in the azure coloured sea. The beach was within walking distance of the ship. Everglades/ Flamingo Park We booked this through the ship as they do like you to vacate the ship early in the morning and rather than wait around the airport all day, it's a nice way to time to pass the time, while your luggage is being looked after . The tour guide was really comical and the wind boats were great fun. The flamingo park was also very good but we were limited on time here. All in all I would highly recommend this cruise , but would suggest it might be more time and cost effective to arrange the transfers yourself as we paid £100s more booking through Princess than we would arranging this ourselves. Read Less

We have never cruised with Princess but we liked the itinerary to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We were not disappointed! This is a fantastic cruise line. The embarkation was flawless. Our stateroom was ready upon arrival. Everything around the ship was clean always. The entertainment was fantastic. We kept busy going from one venue to the next, not to miss anything. Our favorite was Project 5. They interacted with the crowd and were great musicians. They dedicated a song to us for our anniversary. We were so impressed with the buffet line! So clean and not crowded. Never have seen that on any other ship. We like the any time dining and was seated with a fabulous server, Hardika. He made certain that our dining experience was over the top. The food was good but not fabulous in the Michelangelo. But we were never hungry! We met some of the nicest people on the cruise. The clientele was great. We tried to participate in as much as we could but there was plenty that we just couldn't do. Our room was always clean and in order. The food areas were always clean. The Salty Dog had great food, great pizza. Plenty of pools so there was plenty of shade and room in the hot tub and pool. Easy to get around the ship. Drinks were good. Ports were fantastic! It was so much fun. We will definitely go on another Princess Cruise. Disembarkation was a breeze. Very well organized by all. We were very impressed with all of it. Read Less